Warm Homes Plan published

The government has finally published its long-delayed Warm Homes Plan, which it says sets out how it will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future.

The new plan sets out the government’s policies for the rest of this Parliament and doubles down on heat pumps and heat networks as the government’s preferred low carbon technologies, with electrification of heat the key priority. However, the plan also includes funding, training, and regulatory changes that will directly affect technicians and customers who rely on liquid fuel heating.

The priorities in the plan also reflect the current cost of living squeeze. With ECO now cancelled, £5 billion will be invested in a new Warm Homes Fund to support home upgrade improvements. Of this, £600 million is specifically targeted at low-income households, where affordability is a major concern. There is a clear shift away from insulation measures and Ministers claim the multibillion-pound plan will bring down energy bills by helping households to install heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage in their homes.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme – which offers grants of £7,500 towards the cost of a heat pump – will be extended to the end of this parliament. The plan also includes a consumer loan scheme, to help people cover the up-front costs of these often-expensive technologies.

In terms of regulation, the number of Certification Bodies operating in the energy efficiency and microgeneration sectors will be reviewed. There are also proposals to restrict installers from being members of more than one Certification Body for the same type of installation work.

You can find more analysis of the announcement, here.

_{Image from stock}